Christmas Books

one of the reasons I love books about christmas is because of guessing what presents people will end up getting. And let's face it, people care about gifts more than the actual holiday itself. Anyways Karen got a Baby Grow a Tooth Doll, tons of books including Bobbsey Twins, an art kit, a game called Sorry, and clothes like knee socks with snowflakes along with skirts and tops and knitted winter stuff. But her best gift ever was her nannie coming home from the hospital on Christmas Eve, the only wish she had for Christmas. It was also nice reading about nancy celebrating hannukah. Nancy's gifts were books, nintendo games, baby grow a tooth and they gave karen gifts like hair ribbons, barrettes and her own driedel. Another part I enjoyed were when they made christmas ornaments and decorations, and had the most perfect snow day complete with snow angels and hot chocolate! The activities at the back are very creative too! The ones I liked were how to wrap a present to make it look like a snowman, how to make a snowy scene christmas card and how to make a driedel and play the game with raisins or nuts.

this book is about 15 years old but that's no reason to overlook it. I think it should be reissued in bookstores and many kids should buy it. It's a beautiful story and there are also great activities in the back of the book. Basically karen's grandmother has an accident so all the toys and games karen wanted for christmas are no more, she only makes that one wish that her grandma is home from the hospital for christmas. Aside from that karen does lots of christmas activities like making decorations in the classroom, looking for a christmas tree, going shopping, celebrating hannukah with her best friend, making christmas ornaments and all that exciting good old stuff associated with christmas. Although karen gets excited about toys and wants a lot of things I like how the book reminds us that christmas is about a time to be happy with your family and that is number one.

a good christmas story and great christmas activities at the back of the book you'll want to do at home such as making gifts, creative ways to wrap presents, recipies, puzzles and games

I'm not really 9 years old, but I was when I received this book for my birthday. It is the best little sister book to be written and I recommend this to everyone. Karen's grandmother has an accident and is in the hospital, so Karen asks for no christmas presents, she only made a christmas wish that her grandmother will be home from the hospital. This book also focuses on the celebrations of Christmas and Hannukah and karen is doing all kinds of christmas activities and fun things like baking cookies, making ornaments, decorating a tree, writing letters to Santa and building snowmen for example. And she's also learning about Hannukah from her best friend Nancy, and she celebrated hannukah with them and nancy celebrated christmas with karen's family(the little house family). A book written to lift the spirits of anyone, especially during the Christmas holidays. And yes, she does get presents in the end, it's a happy ending.

It's the best time of year for 7 year-old Karen. The sounds and smells of Christmas are every were. Her happiness crashes when she hers about how her Nannie had a bad fall and is in the hospital. She only has one wish this holiday season, for her Nannie to get out of the hospital. This story is sure to brighten up your holiday spirits. A must read for kids and parents.

We got this book for our son's first Christmas and we love the richness of the story and the wonderful pictures. We look forward to reading it every Christmass season!

Sometimes the best way to be more specific about a story beyond saying that it is "wonderful with beautiful pictures" is to quote what it says on the jacket cover that I can confirm from having read the book. I believe that this statement is very accurate - I couldn't have said it better myself: "In THE LEGEND OF SAINT NICHOLAS, Demi describes pivotal events in the history and life of the saint, weaving a rich tapestry of luminous imagery into the story of his connection with Christmas and our modern day Santa Claus. Demi's gilded artwork brings Nicholas to life in a way sure to mesmerize readers new to the story of this fascinating and important historical figure." I am not new to his story. I first learned about Saint Nicholas when I was a 5 year old child in Germany. I continue to celebrate Saint Nicholas day on his feast day, December 6 with whoever is near me. In the process I have explained again and again who he was and continue to have the highest respect for this historical figure, hoping that I can show some of his love for others. One thing that I realized in reading this book is that he was a bishop in the area of what is now part of what is considered to be that of the Orthodox or Eastern Catholic tradition rather than the Roman Catholic tradition. This is realized from the first time that you look at the cover of the book through the first couple of pages that show artwork of Orthodox orthodox churches and continued in "Middle East" scenery and Orthodox artwork. These pictures are present on every page of the book. As Bishop Nicholas lived in what is now Turkey this is most appropriate. A fun addition to this book is that the inside of the front and back covers have pictures of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus as they are appropriately shown in costumes of various cultures throughout the world - Russian, Chinese, Egyptian, Native American, Mexican, German, Irish etc.. One can spend quite a while just looking at these pages they are so fascinating.

This is basically an illustrated, Cliff's notes of St. Nicholas' biography. It has nice illustrations and has a lot of information, dates, and locations of events surrounding St. Nic's life. There are aspects of the biography that I just don't believe to be fact, but more lore, such as no toddler would really refuse to eat or drink milk preferring to pray all Holy Saint's Day. There are also some rather graphic images, such as whips, the mention of him being tortured, and the story of 3 young boys being killed then salted in a tub of brine to be served as food. I know this is part of St. Nicholas' life, but for a kid's book it could have been "lightened" up a bit and still get the point across. But this is coming from a Buddhist (I was raised Christian) who wanted a book to teach my son who "Santa Claus" really is and why everyone gives each other presents for Christmas. It will serve it's purpose, but I will have to either skip a few pages when I read it to him or reword several parts of the story so he doesn't have nightmares about being tortured, enslaved, salted and/or eaten!

This book is our most cherished Christmas book. The pictures are absolutely lovely and the story is compelling. The book is truly a work of art.

This Book is inviting and beautiful. Demi's artwork is so well done and inspirational. In some ways the pictures tell the story and the words just carry it along. Charlotte Demi Hunt tells this story with reverence and some humor along the way. Look at her inventive end papers and you will see Santa's from around the world. Little details like Nicholas's donkey, a red stocking, darling dutch children holding wooden shoes offer a light humor to a very straight forward telling of the life of Saint Nicholas and how he became Santa Claus. Yet Demi never goes above childrens heads. Her writing is simple and straight forward and the stories of Nicholas's compassion and faith capture your heart. The best is that of the nobleman and his three daughters and how Nicholas saved the girls from slavery with a gift of gold in a stocking. The whole book is a delight and perfect for reading to children.

I first watched this Christmas TV special when my children were small and found it interesting and fun. It brings a different view of how Santa Claus came to be with the help of Nature's creatures. It also has a great message for children that my children got the first time. I watch it every Christmas and enjoy it very much.It makes a nice change from the predictable, sugary shows you can get recently.

I got this book for my parents on Christmas. They loved it. It describes the childhood and maturation of Santa Clause. The mythology is deep with fairies and fairy folk. The illustrations are through out the book as any good children's book. This is a classic children's story as it will grip the emotions of even adult readers. It makes one pine for the good and humane in the world. This is a great book.

This book has a rather peculiar history. Originally published in 1902, two years after Baum's success with The Wizard of Oz,the first printing contained 20 color illustrations. In the second printing, eight of the color illustrations were left out, replaced by numerous black and white marginal illustrations. So you can imagine the delight of Oz fans when they discover this lovely edition in full color readily available after so many years of black and white reprints of the original edition.

The book is in three sections: "Youth", "Manhood", and "Old Age". Santa was discovered as an infant abandoned in the Forest of Burzee. The nymphs, fairies and elves adopted him and under the tutelage of Ak, the Master Woodsman of the World, Claus is bought up to appreciate and understand that all living things are sacred and deserve respect. In the "Manhood" section Baum tells the reader how Claus began making toys and delivering them to the world. He had his problems though. The Awgwas, who are evil creatures and can't tolerate happiness, continue to plague Claus first by intercepting his toys during delivery and then kidnapping Claus himself. "Old Age" describes the immortals' decision to take certain actions so that Claus can continue to give to the world.

Numerous questions are answered here:
What is the reason for hanging stockings?
How and why did Santa enlist the help of reindeer?
Why does he slide down the chimney?

As in the Wizard of Oz a good number of the characters here are Baum's own creations. You'll meet the knooks and the ryls, for example. You'll also meet the Gnome King who is rather benign here, but, by the end of Ozma of Oz, becomes the arch enemy of that fairy kingdom.

Michael Hague's illustrations are glorious.In the "Illustrator's Note" he states that the illustrations took three times longer than he expected. Well, it certainly shows. This was a labor of love. The pictures are in two varieties, full color and two color. The endpapers show a snowy day in the woods, a small creature trudging through it with a sack on its back. This is indeed one of Mr. Hague's finest moments. I wish I could give this book a 10, 5 for the story and 5 for the pictures.

In this Book L. Frank Baum seeks to explain the origins of Santa Claus to children and he succeeds wonderfully. I read this book when I was much younger and really treasure the talent Baum has to tell a tale and explain where Santa Claus comes from and why he delivers those toys. Baum plays with traditional Santa myths as with most tellings Santa is an orphan or foundling adopted by others. Here Claus is adopted by the wood nymphs and raised to love the forest and all it's creatures. If there is one thing Baum asserts in this book is a love for nature, love and peace. He is taught to love the human race and another great message in this book is to do good in this world and leave it in better condition than we found it. besides that Baum explains how Claus learns to create toys and uses them to bring happiness to the children around him. Every thing is explained how the sleigh and reindeer were first used, how the first stockings were fillied, how Claus created the first christmas tree, and how he became immortal.
The book is not without a conflict as Baum created the Awgawas, creatures who seek to corrupt children through bad behavior. The creature try to destroy Claus only to earn the wrath of the immortals who befriend him. This battle in the book is noteworthy as supposedly insignificant weapons destroy their attackers.

This particular edition is beautifully painted by Hague. His nymphs are straight out of a style like the elves from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. His Santa is more like a cross between a Father Christmas and Saint Nicholas. He is jolly, and happy. Although I note he also looks a bit like Hague which is fine, why not, Hague sees the Santa in himself. This book is the most beautiful edition of Baum's Christmas classic and worth a read through out December.

I remember reading this book around fifth grade. I kind of liked it then, I think because of the whole fairies thing.

Basically the story follows the life of Claus, a baby adopted by fairies. (The story starts in fairy land and much of it involves the fairies and woodland spirits. If you are expecting traditional Christmas lore you will get that but not quite yet.) The fairies are immortal, but Claus will grow up and age. When he has grown to be a teenager the fairies set him up in a cottage in the woods. Apparently they are bringing him food and necessities, so his only job is to discover his purpose in life. He begins to make toys for children to cheer them up, and the story goes from there.

The entire host of fairies gets involved in toy production. Instead of making toys like the merry elves, they bring colors from flowers and other magical properties that Claus can include in his toys. This reads like a fairy tale and grdually Baum brings in elements from the Santa mythology. The transition from fairies and magic to Santa is what I liked most in the book.

I recently reread this book and liked it except for the whole toys making kids happy thing. Its not that I dislike kids or toys. Here Claus (obviously the future Santa Claus) makes toys for children and the toys are the panacea that makes their world perfect. With a small carved toy dog all of a sudden they are kind to siblings, respect their parents and are bursting with joy. If he passed out lifetime supplies of cocain and valium he couldn't make them happier. If I were to find that Baum had been commissioned by a department store to write this book as a special advertising section for holiday spending then that would explain alot. The huge emphasis on more toys=happy makes the book a little sick.

Overall this is a nifty twist on the Santa Claus myth. It reads well even in the summertime. The only drawback is the huge focus on happiness through toys. The only moral that I could extract from the story is that children NEED toys to be happy and this is soooo important that the entire world of fairy restructures itself around toys. Good story but it sometimes feels like good press for the toy department.

A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays
Wonderful read for getting in the holiday spirit - warm, vivid, witty and fun!

I would have loved this book even if it wasn't so well written, as the author grew up in Maine and is exactly my age, so it was like a trip down memory lane to read about his childhood--exciting trips to LaVerderies to get Christmas presents, the feeling of going to the big city when you are really going to a small Maine city, the extra sunny day when I too went inside from playing in the Maine summer to see Nixon resign, picking a Christmas tree from the woods and trying so hard to find the perfect one among the imperfect Maine scrubby forest trees, the transition from the huge colored bulbs to smaller ones that gradually took place, the feeling of a Christmas pageant in a small church, Grants Christmas albums---WOW!

This memoir is told all in Christmases, little samples of the author's life growing up fairly poor in Norridgewock, Maine, half Cuban and therefore half an outsider (although the fact that the other half was an old Maine family probably made it easier).

I know too the feeling of leaving home young and never really going home, and how the guilt when you do visit can be quite overwhelming. This book evokes the time and place so well that it brought me to tears several times. A real triumph.

give them A Little Fruitcake. As spirited and hilarious as Sedaris' Holidays on Ice, A Little Fruitcake veers between laugh-out-funny and a warm loving look back at childhood holidays. Valdes Greenwood's voice is fresh, wise, with just the right amount of bite -- the perfect holiday guest (unlike the great aunts you actually have to spend Christmas with!)

A Little Fruitcake is my pick for holiday gift this year. It's a wonderful collection of stories about family and holidays that you can feel comfortable giving to anyone from your traditional Grandma to your quirky and hip college roommate (and it sure beats an actual fruitcake). I'm going to send copies out as early holiday gifts, maybe around Thanksgiving, to help everyone get into the holiday mood.

Greenwood, David Valdez. "This Christmas, Try a Little Fruitcake", De Capo Press, 2007.

The Spirit of the Season

Amos Lassen

Remember when? These two words say succinctly and precisely what "This Christmas, Try a Little Fruitcake" is all about. The book is a collection of charming and comical little stories that brim with the spirit of the holiday season. David Valdes Greenwood who gave us "Homo Domesticus" captures with elfin charm the sometimes outrageous unpredictability of family celebrations in a series of delightful and heart warming little stores. He gives us twelve tales, one for each of the twelve days of Christmas and they are all set against the background of the rural countryside of Maine.
Holidays can be compared to fruitcake--they are both mixed blessings. They each offer unexpected chaos and actual merriment. It is so easy to identify with the characters as all of us have relatives like the ones we read about in Valdes Greenwood's stories. Remember the time you tormented Santa Claus or the time you went to the Christmas pageant when the wise men were not speaking to each other because of some petty argument? There is a Scrooge in every family (I resemble that remark) and then there are the homemade decorations that while may not be beautiful hold a prominent place in the home because the children made them.
Valdes Greenwood looks at Christmas through the eyes of a child and makes the holiday come alive. He reminds us of the sappy TV spectaculars and getting together to decorate the tree and then he lets us remember how ewe sat at the kids' table which was not exactly placed too close to the grownups.
It is the humor and the nostalgia of the book that makes it special but at the heart of the stories is David who is loveable and precocious at the same time. There is also a very strong moral here and that is that Christmas spirit is not what is wrapped under the tree or the birth of Jesus but the beauty of the season which gives us memories to last a lifetime.
Even as a non-Christian, I could identify with much of the book. I may not have Christmas but I have the season and it is that special time of year that all of us cherish so dearly.

First read this book in 1976 and am still reading it.

Because I come from an Ivy League intellectual background I have found that the intellectual approach to Zen worked best for me.

When I first read it, almost 30 years ago, I had a major spiritual awakening. I "got it" while reading this book, in a moment I will never forget.

Now I read it from time to time just to enjoy it.

If you are an educated Westerner this is the best source of Zen for you. Read this book.

Living Zen lives up to its title- a book 'alive' with 'presence and soul'. I would highly recommend this book to anyone curious to go beyond any particular religion or system. Linssen's ideas are not a nebulous form of zen 'instruction' but rather a concrete expression of the connection between physics, science, psychology, biology. This book is the most 'complete' book I have ever read.

Living Zen lives up to its title- a book 'alive' with 'presence and soul'. I would highly recommend this book to anyone curious to go beyond any particular religion or system. Linssen's ideas are not a nebulous form of zen 'instruction' but rather a concrete expression of the connection between physics, science, psychology, biology. This book is the most 'complete' book I have ever read.

A good description of what Zen is about. He uses analogies with scientific principles of chemistry and physics to help explain the teachings of Zen. I recommend it to the scientifically trained.

This is the most helpful, complete, and well-written book on Zen I have ever read. I first read it a couple of months ago, and I continually return to it to re-read chapters, gaining deeper levels of understanding.

No wonder this book was nonimated for a Rita award for Best Temptation. Only Barbara Daly could find sex and humor in plumbing pipe. Entertaining at every page-turn, with a lemons-into-lemonade ending. Now onward to the 'sister' stories in her double Duets!

A Long Hot Christmas was a delight to read. The characters are so appealing I wanted to jump right into the book and spend my Christmas with Hope and Sam and the gang. Maybelle is an absolute hoot and I also liked that trashy Charlene. Run yourself a nice hot bubble bath, light some candles, maybe set out a truffle or two...and settle yourself in with this fun, lighhearted book.

Their arrangement was simple. Marketer Hope Sumner wants to become the next vice-president in her company. Lawyer Sam Sharkey wants to become his firm's next partner. In a world where appearances are everything, they each need "arm candy" to present the appropriate look at seasonal events. So they make an agreement; they will attend this season's parties together, looking appropriately sappy and making lover-like comments without the emotional vulnerabilities that accompany usual relationships. Then Sam suggests that they become lovers as well, since sexual fulfillment is sorely lacking between the tightly booked schedules of their Palm Pilots.

Meanwhile, Hope's ready to make changes in her life. She hires an interior decorator to make her apartment more livable. While Mavbelle Ewing brings feng shui to her apartment, she also surreptitiously erases the sharp lines from Hope's life. Suddenly a carefully controlled schedule and work aren't enough to fill Hope's existence. Sam likewise finds himself drawn to the very emotions he professes to avoid. With his law firm representing Hope's company in an upcoming lawsuit, however, trouble approaches on the horizon. Soon they will find themselves facing not only a personal crisis, but also a professional one that will leave them questioning their morals, their values, and their priorities.

Author Barbara Daly pens a delightful holiday romance in A LONG HOT CHRISTMAS. The charm lies especially in the details from the feng shui decorator who never seems to send a bill, to Hope's creatively constructed Christmas star. The deeper issues of their professional lives never overtake the narrative, but beautifully highlight the brittle and superficial appearances that conceal their strong personalities. The ending is especially wonderful in the way that Hope and Sam cheer victims of a Christmas tragedy. A lovely read that shouldn't be confined just to Christmas, A LONG HOT CHRISTMAS comes highly recommended.

I am a male, first time romance reader and found this to be light and entertaining, a lot of funny interludes and the characters each believable for something I really didn't plan to take seriuosly. I want to see what happens to Faith and Charity in the future. A good read.

I loved Barbara's latest work, and not only because I was a character in the book, appearing with my enthusiastic consent.
This book was her most thoroughly "fleshed out" (excuse the pun!) work and I loved the entire story line. A great premise-rent a date!
I look forward to reading the future books with the other virtues - Faith and Charity, although I hope to read more about Hope.
Sincerely, Charlene Carroll

I met Sharon Glassman, the author of Love, Santa, once on a warm, fall afternoon in Rye, New York. She was energetic and tiny and one of the most quick-witted people I've ever met. That day, I made a mental note to pick up a copy of her book just to see what her writing was like, and, having done so, I am happy to say her writing is much like her: funny, a little nostalgic, and winning. Love, Santa is a small book--not really long enough to curl up with, but a nice little gift book. It recounts the author's amusing struggle to fit in with a holiday that can obviously be a bit awkward for a kid growing up Jewish in America. Happily, Sharon seems finally to have found a way to make peace with Christmas--and then some. All in all, a nice little story.

Glassman's charming quest for a real Christmas is both witty and rich--a must for fans of the season and anyone who has ever wondered about the US Post Office's Operation Santa.

The first thing I did when I got home was unpack my letters and put them on top of my desk so they could breathe. Then I steamed some spinach in a warm filtered-water mist, read a book, and went to sleep. Then at four o'clock the next morning, I woke up in a cold sweat. I had gone from being an independent single woman to being the sole provider of Christmas for three innocent children. What had I been thinking? ~Sharon Glassman

Sharon Glassman instantly captured my attention with her modern journal about her adventures that lead up to the first entry on December 22nd at 2 A.M. Not the time of day one expects to find anyone at a post office. However, the all-night main Manhattan post office on Thirty-third Street and Eighty Avenue is where we find the author waiting in line, observing her surroundings and taking the opportunity to chat with a hockey player with a French accent and irresistible smile.

Sharon Glassman's writing style is witty, modern and deliciously entertaining. Santiago Cohen's art really captured my attention and helped to give the story an additional dimension of merriment.

Sharon Glassman may well be the Bridget Jones of Christmas although the focus is much more on shopping and the story focuses on buying gifts for children. The "wish lists" to Santa are letters sent to the post office from families in need. Sharon finds herself interested in three letters and then wonders what she was thinking. She only has a few days to find the presents and get them shipped in time for Christmas.

As she recounts her own Christmas history, you can see why her desire to transform herself into a "Lace-Clad Girlfriend of Christmas" overtakes her and leads her to her dream Christmas party. She also takes us along for her Christmas shopping trip that may inspire your own Operation Santa Claus dreams.

In her search for the perfect presents, she realized how specific the children's wishes are and that a castle, a football and a down jacket will take her on some interesting shopping trips. I loved her description of New York and how her pro-Noel family camped out on a red-and-green plaid living room couch to watch holiday television specials.

If you are wondering how you could give the gift of Christmas to children or adults across America, Sharon's heart-defrosting story will give you ideas about how you can find similar volunteer efforts.

~The Rebecca Review

Sharon Glassman's Love, Santa is the tender, witty and charming story of how one confused, shopping-challenged but thoroughly good-hearted young woman finds her way through the manic commercialism of the American holiday season to a deeper celebration of what it means to give. I laughed and wept in the same breath, and I came away from Ms. Glassman's book inspired to do my own part for Operation Santa Claus this season.

After reading "Love Santa" by Sharon Glassman, I was reminded that one person can make a difference. Like many other people who get caught up in the whirlwind of their own life, I too did not pause to reflect upon the meaning of the holiday season and the true spirit behind gift giving. Sharon's book is a wake up call to everyone to count your blessings and think of the less fortunate.

In addition, her story is cleverly written with huge doses of humor, and one I would recommend for tweens to seniors.

I became immediately intrigued by the characters and realized at the end of each story how the author had cleverly imbedded a fascinating slice of history within it. I was excited to read the next, knowing I would be taken on an adventure ride through a transformational segment of someone's life. This is an ideal summer book for easy beach reading and a perfect holiday book for gift giving.

Mary Christmas is well written and was a pleasure to read. The short stories are stand-alone making it the perfect book to take along on a trip.

Great writing. With all of the heavy feelings in the world today it was nice to sit down and read the many stories.

For someone who is looking for a book of Christmas short stories, but is sick of the same, old, traditional style, MARY CHRISTMAS might be the perfect solution.

This collection of twenty easy-read stories which take place at Christmastime is definitely unusual. The plots range from a nine and eleven-year-old camping out in the fall-out shelter in their back yard, to a Russian mail-order bride dealing with the loss of her daughter whom she left behind in Russia.

I usually don't enjoy short stories, and I especially dislike anything which doesn't end happily. This book, however, was an exception to both of the above. I was surprised by how quickly I was drawn into the tales, and even the sad ones were enjoyable because they ended on a hopeful note. Somehow the reader knew that the protagonists would eventually make it through their pain and be okay.

My favorite story was "We Wish You a Merry Tonsillectomy". I fell in love with the spunky seven-year-old who concluded that her doctor must be pretty stupid if he thought he needed her date of birth in order to distinguish her from all the other Mary Jane Pulaski's in their town! Although I read this book over a month ago Mary Jane keeps bounding her way back into my thoughts.

I also especially liked "The Magic Shirt". It was impressing to me that in 19 pages the author was able to hook me into the plot, teach me some history, and put me in touch emotionally with several of the issues the Indians and their reservation priests struggled with. (In this story a young Indian woman who had been converted to Christianity went against her better judgement and agreed to help her brothers make two magic shirts. Their belief that the shirts would repel bullets caused one brother to die, and the second to be imprisoned.)

Rarely do I get this excited, much less captivated, by a collection of short stories. The first page of "Going Away" had me hooked, even though I deliberately chose not to read straight through this wonderful book. I took it story by story, preferring to come home to this book as though it were a rich, fulfilling dessert without calories. Each story struck a chord deep inside me, somewhere between a nostalgic moment and awareness that being a woman means finding inner strength to accommodate the change we each will face. I appreciate and laud the writer who provides a framwork that lets my imagination reach its own conclusions.

The many new singing english translations are exceptional, A great addition to the Christmas repetoire.

I often play for multi-ethnic groups,this book enables me to taylor- make each performance. It contains music not only from almost every European country, but some unusual gems from South America, China, the Philippines and Japan.

This is a great book for preparing a culturally diverse program in that Levin carefully selected the music to represent many countries and cultures. Among the interesting rarities are a Huron Indian Christmas song from Canada; Christmas songs from China, the Filipines, Mexico and South America; and unusual selections from such countries as Australia, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Greece, Sweeden, Russia, Holland and Armenia. Virtually every Christian culture is represented. Many of the Jewish and Hebrew titles I've seen nowhere else!

It has a lot of classical titles that I've been meaning to get, and the arrangements are as good or better than what I've played over the years. There's a lot of attention paid to detail. And most of the songs still sound rich or complex. It has a LOT of titles. I'd recommend it.

The Christmas and Holiday songs in this book include those that we would all like to play but that most of us are unable to. This "fake" book provides a system whereby ordinary people who love this music but who have not had the musical training that they might wish they had, can play them too. The sound of these arrangements is unusually lush and authentic for arrangements of this kind. The book also contains pieces less commonly included in popular books of this kind, such as the hauntingly beautful Huron Carol, well known to Canadians such as myself but possibly less well known in other countries. Even if this were the only piece in this book, it would be well worth purchasing. In fact it contains a large selection of holiday songs.

Great product. I own several of these books. I made cards, package tags, wrapping paper and t-shirts from this book. The images are easy to use and resize.

I have been using the vintage holiday images from this book/cd combo to make some of my holiday cards this year. The images have a good print quality and are pretty as they are--but I like to embellish with flocking, glitter, ribbon, brads, etc. Very pleased with this purchase!

I make all my own cards for all occasions. This book has great artwork on a CD that make my cards look like very expensive ones. It has pictures of all sizes and tons of borders. The color quality is great. I have the Christmas and the birds a butterfly book.

Love these cds. Vintage graphics that are great for crafts, scrapbooking, cards etc... The company gave me directions for using, as I had trouble understanding the directions on the case.
I use Windows XP, and here is the directions I use.

To view images:
Click on Start
My Computer
Double click MOL Christmas (D:)
Click Next Page and choose pages.

To print images
Start
My Computer
Right click on MOL Christmas (D:)
Open
Click on 250 dpi
Click folder with page number and image you want to print
Click file, continue, print, choose size of print.
Hope that helps!

I have also got the Animals cd, and enjoy it also!

SO worth it! You can use these images for cards, scrapbooks, altered books, the options are endless! You'll need them all (ok, WANT them all) ;)